Aqueduct Hotlist - February 5

Today’s NY Hot List races to watch – Saturday, February 5, 2022 at Aqueduct
By Matt Shifman and Bob Ehalt

Hot List Key:
 A: A preferred horse to watch                                 B: Secondary horse to watch
*C: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 1st through 3rd
*D: Went down 2 or more betting notches and finished 4^th or worst
* - 4 or more betting notches if 11-1 or more.

2^nd race [NY, Alw 72000, 7F] – (1A) Tapizearance (B) was checked early in his last race, then had to steady in the stretch, and was placed second by disqualification. (7) Breadman returns from a May layoff and moves from turf to dirt where he was third in a NY-bred stake. (3) Fenway officially moves from the barn of Bob Baffert to John Terranova who has been caring for the horse since the summer. He comes back from an October layoff. He did break his maiden at Belmont Park in the fall. (5) Bureaucrat switches to the care of Tom Morley after racing at Finger Lakes with a win and a pair of thirds.

6^th race [Clm 25000 N2L, 6 ½ F] – (4) Prisoner (A) was an open-length winner of his debut for Todd Pletcher back in June of 2020 at Belmont Park beating a heavily bet Wesley Ward runner. He comes back 18 months later for Rudy Rodriguez in this claimer with blinkers on, Lasix, and as a new gelding. (10) Swinton won a maiden special weight in November at Aqueduct and then was overmatched in a pair of starter allowances where he still flashed early speed. (6) Halpert was third when he moved from turf to dirt last time for Michelle Giangiulio who is winning at 67% at the Big A winter meeting. (1) Magnificent Chrome had the lead and was caught at the wire in a similar spot last time out.

8^th race [Withers (G3), 1 1/8 mi] – (9) Early Voting (A) was an impressive debut winner for Chad Brown at odds of .95-1 at Aqueduct going a mile. This son of Gun Runner also has a strong female side which indicates that he should handle the stretch out to nine furlongs. Jose Ortiz returns from Florida and stays on board even though he rode Courvoisier in his last start. (5) Courvoisier is unbeaten in his last two starts at the Big A. He broke his maiden going the 1 1/8 mile distance in December and came back to win the Jerome by more than a length and 10 Derby qualifying points. Ruben Silvera will get the mount for the first time for trainer Kelly Breen. (3) Smarten Up hit the board in all four career starts including his second in the Jerome. His prior three races were all at Parx Racing and included his nine-length maiden breaker. (11) Cooke Creek won his first two starts at Delaware Park in a maiden special weight and a one-mile stakes race. From there, he was second in the Nashua (G3) and then third in the Jerome.

9^th race [NY, Md Sp Wt, 7F] – (10) Golden Code (C) was bet down from 8-1 to 4-1 and ran second in his debut for Todd Pletcher behind a heavily bet favorite. (3) Moped Dennis was third in his first career start for Jeremiah Englehart at odds of 9-1. (9) Relate improved to run second on a sloppy track after finishing fourth in his first start for the Asmussen barn. (6) Curlin’s Wisdom used early speed to improve in his three starts, most recently getting second for Bill Mott as the favorite.

Best bets: Prisoner (6^th); Golden Code (9^th). Best value: Tapizearance (2^nd); Early Voting (8^th).

Saturday Pick 3 Special --
The Saturday Special $1 Pick 3 covers races 7 – 9 and includes the Withers (G3)  à 1, 2, 4, 6 with 1, 3, 5, 9, 11 with 10 = $20.